Biblical and historical prophets faced widespread rejection

because their messages confronted human pride, sin,

and a preference for false comfort over repentance.

Rejection stemmed from human rebellion against divine authority,

spiritual blindness, and people choosing

their own ways instead of God's commands.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Ephesians 1:1-10

Paul,

An apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, to you who share Christian faith:

receive grace and peace from God our Father and from Jesus the Lord.

Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord,

who in Christ has blessed us from heaven with every spiritual blessing.

God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world, to be holy and without sin in his presence.

From eternity he destined us in love to be his adopted sons and daughters through Christ Jesus,

thus fulfilling his free and generous will.

 

This goal suited him: that his loving-kindness,

which he granted us in his beloved, might  finally receive all glory and praise.

For in Christ we obtain freedom, sealed by his blood, and have the forgiveness of sins.

In this appears the greatness of his grace, which he lavished on us.

In all wisdom and understanding, God has made known to us his mysterious design,

in accordance with his loving- kindness, in Christ.

In him, and under him God wanted to unite,

when the fullness of time had come, everything in heaven and on earth.

 

Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

The Lord has made known his salvation.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊     

Luke 11:47-54

"A curse is on you, for you build monuments to the prophets your ancestors killed.

So you approve and agree with what your ancestors did. Is it not so?

They got rid of the prophets, and you build monuments to them!

For that reason the wisdom of God also said: I will send prophets and apostles and these people will kill

and persecute some of them. But the present generation will have to answer for the blood of all the prophets

that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah,

 

who was murdered between the altar and the Sanctuary. Yes, I tell you,

the people of this time will have to answer for them all.

A curse is on you, teachers of the law, for you have taken the key of knowledge.

You yourselves have not entered, and you prevented others from entering."

As Jesus left that place, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees began to harass him,

asking him endless questions, setting traps to catch him in something he might say.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

They preach what people do not want to hear.

Jesus presented to his people the unfortunate fate of the prophets whom God had sent in their midst.

Prophets were sent by God to be His messengers, to remind the people of their covenant with Him.

Yet, many of them have not been listened to. Prophets have been rejected, maligned,

and persecuted, for they preach what people do not want to hear. Everyday experiences are not far from this.

 

We find ourselves in random circumstances where prophets, whether in the form of our family members or friends,

raise concerns about us. Perhaps it is good to ask how we have become responsive to them.

Or have we been so reactive that we have cut our relationships with them? It is worth asking,

for curses sometimes come in the form of regrets when we fail to listen.